Together
Author: Nicole Speer
You are the light of the world… let your light shine before others, so that they may see your
good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. ~Matthew 5:14-16
Many of you have heard that my family found FCC through the Jingle and Mingle, but
very few of you know the story of how I became a regular attendee. As someone who
spent much of her life as an agnostic scientist, it is a story that still leaves me bemused.
Early in 2018, a couple of months after we stumbled upon the Jingle and Mingle, my
daughter had a brain scan to rule out a very unlikely cause for a medical issue she was
having. A brain image that was supposed to come back completely normal came back
showing something that was not supposed to be there. When her doctor called to tell
me the news, I was terrified. I collapsed into my office chair and prayed for the first time
in decades.
Having never belonged to a church, I was surprised to find myself responding to a crisis
by talking with a God I was not sure I believed in. In that moment of prayer, I realized
that even though we had lived here for over a decade, I did not have a community to
lean on in Colorado. We had no one but our small family of four to help us find the
strength and courage and love to carry us through tough times. I promised God that
regardless of what was to come, I would begin a formal faith journey and find a church
community to lean on.
We went to the follow-up scan a few hours later. To everyone’s surprise, whatever the
initial image had caught was gone. There was nothing remotely unusual in the scan. I
was bewildered, with no rational explanation for what had transpired. But true to my
vow, two Sundays later I showed up to the 10:30 service with my kids in tow.
At the time I had no idea what was so important about being a part of this community,
that God would demand my attention to bring us to all of you. Having lived through three
quarters of this year of catastrophic climate events, a global pandemic, growing fascism
and white supremacy, an autocratic takeover, and economic collapse, I see very clearly
now why I needed to find you. Your faith and your love have sustained me and pushed
me to action in ways I never could have accomplished on my own. You helped me see
the challenges of this time and place as opportunities to grow in my faith by standing
stronger against injustice and suffering, and by fighting harder for the love and
compassion Jesus showed us.
God brought me to you, but you brought me to God.
As we head into the tumult of the coming months let’s hold fast to our faith, vote like
each other’s lives depend on it, and remember that we are united in Christ. And no
matter how much worse this year gets, let’s not be afraid. God has carefully and lovingly
placed us exactly where we need to be for the battles that lie ahead. We are together.
Whatever comes next, our collective Christ-light will illuminate the darkness.
